2 more JE cases detected in Bundi

With two more cases of Japanese encephalitis (JE) detected at Keshoraipatan town in Bundi district recently, the number of patients suffering from the disease has reached three in the district this year, officials said Wednesday.

A woman from Keshoraipatan, Manju Panchal (30), had died of Japanese Encephalitis at the Government Maharao Bhim Singh Hospital in Kota on October 31.

Giving information about the two new cases, Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur, additional director, rural health, said that following the Keshoraipatan resident’s death, a health department team was sent in the first half of November to assess the situation in the region.

The team had collected larvae samples of Culex mosquitoes, besides collecting blood samples of six people. “The blood samples of Ghanshyam Sharma (80) and Balchand (35), along with other samples, were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, last month. Their reports have arrived now and Ghanshyam and Balchand have been tested positive for JE,” he said.

While Balchand has recovered now, Ghanshyam has been referred to the Government Medical College in Kota for further treatment,” he added.

Meanwhile, another team of the medical and health department visited Keshoraipatan and Arnetha regions of Bundi district Tuesday and took samples of six people, including 4 of Keshoraipatan and two of Arnetha.

Mathur said that Japanese encephalitis usually spreads in the areas where flood irrigation happens. “Since Keshoraipatan is known for rice cultivation in canal fed agricultural fields, so it could be the reason for emergence of the disease in the area,” he said. He said guidelines for surveillance and diagnosis of Japanese encephalitis have been issued to the local health officials in Bundi.

Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne flavivirus, which primarily affects children and also elderly people above 60 years whose immunity remains low. “Most JE infections are characterised by rapid onset of high fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, seizures, spastic paralysis and others,” he said.

Japanese encephalitis is transmitted to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes of the Culex species (mainly Culex tritaeniorhynchus). The virus exists in a transmission cycle between mosquitoes, pigs and water birds. There is no specific treatmenttoJapaneseencephalitis and has only supportive treatment, but there is an effective vaccine available to prevent the disease, informed the doctor. ‘Delay in hospital admission’ Ghanshyam Sharma, who suffered from Japanese encephalitis, had to spend hours for hospital admission at the New Government Medical Hospital in Kota.

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